Improved railway-chair and sleeper



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Letters Patent No. 93,875, dated August 17, 1869; patented 'in England, October 28, 1868.`

11n-Raven as rLwAY-crmr AND saneren Y The .Schedule referred to-'in these Letters Patent and making part' of the same.

- the .construction of certain of these parts, principally the sleepers and'chahs, in reast-iron, malleable castiron, .wrought-iron, steel, or in fire-clay or other earthy material.

Also, to the combination of such-parts with wood, as the holding or supporting-parts of .the permanent way, which is eiieeted in such a manner as to insure elasticity, stability', and economy in such permanent way. l

By reference to the drawings and the following description, it will -be seen in what the'improvements consist. 1

I. EachV sleeper is cast in a atform, with a strengthening-rib or ribs, a, on its under side. This plan is represented .in Figure 1,

Figure 2 being a side view o f the same.

Upon the upper side of the sleeper are cast two vertical ribs, l, which ribs are parallel with each other, andare placed at any determined distance apart.

On the upper parts of these ribs are cast two jaws c, and, by preference, the outside of tire rail is 'held therein.

Becesses are cast in the innersides ofthese rihs,`so that wrought-iron doublefhooked dogs, d, can be put within them, and passed through holes in the libs or in the bottom of the sleeper, so as to hold down the rails at their inner lower Vharige.

These dogs are bent at right angles, and kept in position by means of a wood wedge, e, cut to such an angle as to suit the cant of the rails. This wedge,

' being driven in between the ribs and below thebottom oi' the rail, will fasten all the partsv together', and the rail will bear" upon the woodwedge only, which will e thus act as an elast-ic cushion to the rail, preventing injurious vibration. v

The wedges are kept from backing by angular ridges,

j, cast on the upper side of the sleeper at right angles to the ribs, and these lidges are serrated, so that the bottom part of the wood wedge becomes compressed within the ridges, and is thus held firmly and preventedI from breaking by shocks or concussions.v l

lt is proposed, in most instances, to insert a tie-bar,

' g, to every sleeper, and the dogs may be welded or otherwise secured to the`ends of the-.tie-bar. (See 'Figure 3.)

Projections maybe forged' on the end of the tie-V bars, as in Figure 4', and the projections inserted within recesses cast inv theA ribs.

The wood wedgeswill securely keep these tie-bars in their places, and the sleepers will thus he absolutely.

tiedtogether. These tie-bars may be of any convenientform or section.

The tic-bar may'he placed in the centre of the bottom vpa-rt of the sleeper,'in a hollow rib there provided.v

for it, and may be secured theretoby'gibs and cotters,fy

as shown b y dotted lines in g. 2.

Double jaws, with`woodkeys, may beused to fasten the rail tothe sleeper, in place of the iron dogs, and

the sleeper may, it' preferred, be slightly curved.

IL1- It ispro'posed also, in some cases, to east a central or third rib in the sleeper, as represented in Figure 5, of which Figure 6 is a side view.

In this rih a recess, t, is formed on eitherside of the rail, toreceive a wrought-iron dog or dogs, d, and the cast-iron jaws may be placed on either side of the rail.

This centralrib also may be used as'a meansjp'qt' securing the tie-hars, which it is preferred to make-tifa hollow, flanged, or angle-iron section,,dropping' them over thecentral rib, and lfastening them thereto, by

either screw-bolts or gibs andeotters.

Twofwood wedges, e, are used in this sleeper, giving increased bearing to the rails, and also keeping down theanges ofthe 'tie-bar on the top of the sleeper.

-serrated ridges; f, are formed, as hereinbefore described, (1,) 'to prevent the backing of the wedges..

` Ribs may be casteil the. under side of the sleeper, for increased strength.

' Althoughthe circular orrectang'ular forni of sleeper is preferred, other forms may be adopted and corrugated, and any section oi' rail can be used. The eir- ,cular form is denoted by the dotted'line's in iig. 5.

The dogs for this forni of sleeper area of. similar construction to those hereinbefore described, (1,) and adapted to the form of railused.

In some instances it is proposed to use single or double cast-iron jaws'on' the side or centre ribs, and

4to secure the rail with wood keys in the usual way,

instead of using dogs.

Iron or steel hollow wedges may be used instead of -wood Wedges, in countries where wood may be inapplicable on account of the ravages of the white ant or other insect. This form of Wedge is shown in Figures 7 and 8. f III. Whenth'e improved sleepers are made of wrought-iron `or steel, it is proposed to roll them of a trough-like form.

The upper ribs may be parallel, and the side recesses for the dogs and tie-bars may be forced out ina mould. y

The wood wedgewill secure all in position, as in the plans hereinbefore'deseribed. Similarly-shapedsleep-- ers may he made of cast-iron.

It is proposed to use wrought-iron'dogs only to sec'nrc the rail, and to place these dogs at opposite sides of the rail, cornerwise. The lower parts of the dogs are inserted in holes'passing through the libs o1' the bottomvof the sleeper', and they receive great support at the back from being placed in recesses in the libs; or the dogged tie-bars may be used to secure the outer part of the rail'. This part of the improvements -is illustrated by Figures 9, 10, and 11,;the latter figure representing the wrought-iron dogs.

IV. Asleeper may be madewith four ribs, b,`(se'e Figures 12, 13, and 14,) the two centre ones being for the purpose ot' receiving the hooked dogs or half cha-irs on the inside ofthe rails.

The outer ribs have either cast jaws, c, for wood keys, or recesses for dogs. Between these ribs, wood wedges, c, may be driven. A

In the centre space, supported by 'anges, h, may

be placed a corrugated sheet, k, of iron or steel, to snpport the centre ofthe rail, and for the purpose of giving, in use, elasticity to the same, the corrugated sheet bearing on the ballast, so as to impartfan additional elasticity to the road.

The tie-bar, tounite thesleepers, maybe similar to those hereinbefore described, but a straight bar is preferred, passing through a hollow rib below the centre ofthe sleeper, and secured by means ot' cotters at the ends of the tie-bar.

V. When the improved sleepers are made of fire;

clay or earthy or similar artificial material, (see Figures 15 and 16,)A there are used, for securing the -rails, either dogs or wrought-Vor cast-iron jaws, as may be preteripd, or jaws ot' the material from which the sleeper is made, or wood keys maybe nsed, as on the ordinary plan, and the rails maybe fastened with wood keys. Y

The tie-bars are made, and'will be secured. to the sleeper', as before described.

In any or either of these sleepers hercinbefore'described, the rail maybe in line with, or at right angles to the lengt-h or breadth ofthe sleeper. (See fig. 16.)

In all cases the wood wedges are preferred to be used, which form the principal fea-ture in these sleepers, insuringr perfect elasticity in the road, and preventing the injurious effects of' vibration orvjarx v lhe sleepers hereinbeforedescribed maybe reduced in size, so as to form chairs to be used upon wood sleepers. The chair may be spiked to the sleeper by wood or iron spikes, placed below the wood wedge. The wood wedge will thus 'completely cover or enclose the spikes, and prevent their working ouigand they' will also be protected from injury by moisture.-

The Aholes iu thevsleeper for the reception'of the wedges maybe placed angular-ly or cornerwise'to each other. When used as achair, no under ribs will be required. ,This plan is illustrated iu --Figur'es 1S, 19, and 20. y

It is proposed, in some cases, to make the sleepers and chairs of malleable cast-iron. It will be seen that in all the applications before described ofthe invention, the rail may be turned vwith great advantage, as it will have no ihdentations, such as are caused when the rail bears upon iron.'

' What I claim, and ent, is-.

l. The method of fastening or securing the rails tothe sleepers or chairs, by driving wooden wedges of any suitable form beneath the rails, in such manner .that they form an elastic support for the rail, and bindand hold together the rails, sleepers, and other parts,

or rails, chairs, and other' parts, forming the permanent way, as and ,for the. purpose described.

2. The railway-sleeper, or sleeperand 'chair com- '.bined, construct-ed substantially as herein shown and;

described.

53. In combination with the sleeper or sleepers and chairs, as constructed, the double-hooked dogs d, operating substantially as setlforth.

In wit-ness whereof, I, the said JOHN GREGORY,

have hereunto set. my hand, this 25th day of-May,

Titnes'ses J. C. Nnwomv,

JOHN GREGORY.

172 Fleet Street, London, .Patent Agent.v

(l. BACON,

172 Fleet Street, London..

desire to secure by Letters vPat- 

